The Bothawui star's light was almost completely blocked out by the swarm of
craft in the air. What seemed like harmless black flies dotted the sky in a
massive, menacing formation. An entire Imperial squadron had been alerted
to the Rebels' presence on the planet.
As Sorcha speedily approached the sloping ridge that led to Baaka and Terr's home, she noticed a figure, shadowed with the seemingly infested sun behind it, racing with incredible stamina towards the nadir on which the hangars were located. She stopped as she saw the figure approaching, and began to run alongside her comrade in the direction she came from.
"How did they find us?" Sorcha yelled to Terr, racing alongside.
Terr, intent on reaching his A-Wing fighter, hesitated before realizing that Sorcha was referring to the massive Imperial force that trailed them in the stratosphere above. "I don't know," was all he could manage, sparing his breath for the run to the center of the vast plateau.
Soon, a squad of TIE Interceptors had reached their target area. The amazingly maneuverable craft plunged towards the earth, firing streams of laser energy that scorched large patches of the tall grass. What followed was a truly horrible smell, as if you'd incinerated a wamprat with a single shot of the carbine, Terr thought. The young pilots continued their way across the plain, dodging through the firestorm that rained down upon them.
Reaching an incredibly low altitude, the Imperial fighters banked upwards in a movement that seemed to shift an entire air mass, producing a shockwave that sent Terr and Sorcha falling to the ground. Sorcha covered her ears as the demonic craft screamed, twirling back up into the sky. The stench of ion exhaust mingled with flaming grass particles made her stomach turn. Terr raised his head to survey the environment, picked himself up out of the tall blades, and grabbed Sorcha's hand, forcing her into a mad dash.
By this time, several Rebel pilots already in the hangar had taken flight. Two X-Wings were now engaged against two TIE Fighter patrol squadrons in the sky above the mesa, struggling to outmaneuver the swarm of hostile craft. The Rebel fighters took on fire from all angles, blasting their way through in search of a convenient offensive position. The more experienced of the two fighter pilots fired a barrage at the leading TIE, causing its metallic structure to sizzle and crack open, creating a tremendous burst of light before it descended to the ground in a shower of fiery debris.
"Shields at full power!" the pilot commanded to his wingman.
Both X-Wings thrust full-speed through the new clearing in the surrounding ring of TIEs, a skillful move that forced two inept Imperial pilots to crash into each other. The three remaining Fighters pulled away from the explosion that ensued, giving the Rebels just enough time to turn around and engage in attack position. They fired incessantly in the direction of the oncoming enemy craft. The commanding pilot was able to dispatch one of the TIEs before a barrage of green lasers penetrated the hull of his wingman. He rolled his X-Wing just in time to avoid the effects of a massive collision that consumed all three pilots.
The Rebel commander's heart sank at the loss of his loyal comrade.
Sorcha glanced up at the battle raging overhead, breathing heavily as she continued her run with Terr. Soon, the two pilots came to a stop, completely exhausted. Terr kneeled in the sun-dried grass, seemingly oblivious to the sounds of war that pierced the air around him. He tried to control his breathing and regain his strength.
"Terr! We can't just stay here!" Sorcha pleaded, between breaths.
"No," replied Terr, equally exhausted. "There's not enough time to get to our ships." He was clearly eager to join the dogfight already occurring. "I...we..."
He took notice of a B-Wing fighter that had landed following a training exercise shortly before the attack began. Its pilot lay in a charred stretch of earth that had been struck by a searing stream of green laser. The pilot-less craft was a mere twenty yards away. Sorcha looked towards the hangar entrance a hundred yards in the distance, then down to Terr, and over to the fighter he was eyeing.
"Oh no..." she started. "You've never flown one before! There's no way, Terr..."
Terr's gaze was fixed on the B-Wing craft. It was unlike him to abandon logic in favor of following his impulses. But something had changed in him – something, after finding out the truth about his parents, after the swordfight with Baaka, after the sirens – he felt free, as if nothing was holding him back from reaching his dreams.
He got up, seized Sorcha, kissed her, and raced towards the B-Wing.
"You're not always right!" he yelled back. He was smiling, although Sorcha didn't notice. She simply stood in shock of the courage and sudden foolishness that had overcome her best friend. Shaking her head, she muttered something, and continued running towards her A-Wing in the hangar.
Terr climbed the fuselage of the grounded B-Wing, and entered its cylindrical cockpit. He had always admired the power and grace of the Alliance's newest fighter, personally designed by the legendary Admiral Ackbar, but was still unfamiliar with its complex design. He tried to relate the mass of flashing buttons and power levers before him to the control panel in his own A-Wing. He saw something that looked like it could be the ignition activator and, with a deep breath, pushed it anxiously.
"Ah," he said, as the glass shield above him lowered, sealing the cone-like cockpit. With a bit more confidence, he flipped a metallic switch that instantly ignited the craft's repuslor-lifts. The B-Wing hovered steadily, gradually ascending to the same plane upon which the battle for Bothawui was raging. Terr reached into the pocket of his flight suit, took out two gloves ordinarily used for controlling the throttle of an A-Wing, strapped them onto his hands and grasped the flight controls of the new craft.
The cockpit of the B-Wing was attached to a T-shaped hull, the rear engines supporting two wings that folded perpendicular to the straight, metallic structure leading down to a front-facing laser cannon. Two additional cannons were located on the wings of the craft. Activating the B-Wing's attack mode, Terr braced himself as the S-foils opened and the weapon control interface appeared on the internal monitor.
The hull of the B-Wing rotated around the stabilized cockpit as Terr targeted the nearest squad of TIEs. The leader of the three Imperial Fighters caught glimpse of the approaching enemy craft and commanded his wingmen into attack formation. Terr looked down at the hangar on the surface below, and the squad of A-Wings taking flight. Then, arming the laser trigger, unleashed a barrage at the oncoming TIEs.
Hhwat wat wat! The three cannons fired in rapid succession, propelling bursts of glowing red energy that seemed to scorch the cool Bothawui air. The flaming streams plummeted into the leading Fighter. Its metallic hull glowed red before bursting outward; shooting debris that acted as dangerous projectiles to Terr's craft. He rotated the hull, allowing the flaming scraps to pass by and rest on the earth below.
The two remaining TIE Fighters maintained their lock on the Rebel craft, unleashing an assault of laserfire as Terr twirled the mass of the B-Wing in an attempt to outmaneuver the onslaught. Streams of green energy blazed across the ship's wings, wearing down the integrity of its shields.
"Gah..." Terr struggled to stabilize the fighter's energy systems. He was now in a dogfight with two enemy craft, utilizing the B-Wing's unique design to dodge attacks, while firing incessantly at the TIEs in short intervals to throw off their persistent assault. Soon, the silver paint on the B-Wing's S-foils was charring from laser strikes. "Set shield recharge to maximum rate!" he commanded to the craft's astromech droid. The onboard monitor displayed the redirection of laser energy to the ship's defensive systems. Terr let out a sigh, and was jolted by another direct hit from the pursuing TIEs.
Just then, the Imperial fighters exploded in a dazzling combination of fiery force and thunderous sound. Terr's B-Wing reeled slightly from the blast before the smoke cleared, revealing a single A-Wing speeding to its side. Terr sighed in relief, and grinned as the two fighters matched pace and direction. He switched on his comlink, just in time to hear the familiar, warm voice.
"Yes I am!" Sorcha replied to her friend's earlier comment.
Terr looked to the right out of his cockpit shield, into that of his loyal companion, and smirked. She returned a warm smile, before pointing in the direction that their ships were moving as a friendly reminder to Terr of the ruthless Imperial onslaught they were entering.
"Oh, right," he said with a grin, returning his focus to his forward view.
The A- and B-wing fighters were now leading the better part of the small Rebel fleet towards an Imperial battle frigate and its multi-squadron fighter defense. The large craft was painted a dull, dark silver and amidst the swarm of similarly-colored fighters, it appeared to the small group of Rebels that their advancing target was a puppet-master, the TIEs screaming forward in an attempt to break free of their strings. Nevertheless, Terr kept his gaze fixed on the menacing frigate.
Terr's concentration was broken by commands from higher-ups over the comlink. The X-Wing pilot who had led the very first counterattack now ordered the band of fighters to split up into pairs. "A single mass is an easy target," he continued. "Try to take down as many fighters as possible, and cover your wingman! The important thing is to keep enough of us alive long enough to prevent that frigate from coming in range of the Alderaan."
In all his haste, Terr had completely forgotten about the Rebels' command ship, the Alderaan, and the officers that were planning to evacuate the planet. "Baaka..." he remembered; he had left the weak old Bothan all alone on the veranda. Terr hoped with all his might that Baaka had made it safely to the hangar, and would be aboard the Alderaan when the Rebels regrouped. After this suicide mission is over, he reminded himself.
"Three kilometers..." one of the B-wing pilots broke in, reminding all of the great danger approaching. Sorcha's heart raced. She and Terr had only minutes ago never been in real combat before; now they were going head-on against some of the most well-trained foes in the galaxy. "Wind increasing steadily from the north...all pilots adjust craft to maintain target lock..." Sorcha complied, shifting the throttle of her A-Wing slightly to the right. In doing so, she caught glimpse of a cluster of thick cumulus clouds flowing steadily into the path between the warring squadrons.
"Uh, I think we may have a problem..." she cut in over the comlink.
"What is it?" asked the X-Wing commander, focusing on combating the wind with his throttle.
It was too late to take any action, however, as the wind increased dramatically and the clouds accelerated. Soon, a dense white haze enveloped Rebel and Imperial craft alike. Some of the Rebel pilots, used to relying on their own eyesight in battle, began to look around nervously.
"I can't see anything!"
"Where are they?"
"Cut the chatter and watch your targeting computers," the commander ordered.
"May the Force be with us..." Sorcha added.
Immediately thereafter, a swarm of TIE Interceptors began to break through the edge of visibility, mere meters in front of the Rebel fighters. "Ah!" Terr exclaimed to himself, shifting his throttle so that the B-wing banked to the left, just in time to avoid a head-on collision with an Interceptor. Sorcha's A-wing jerked to the right, and soon the Rebels' plan to pair up crafts had proved a drastic failure. X-wings shifted upwards and spiraled down; apparently the TIE pilots had not anticipated the possibilities of the Bothawui atmosphere either, and had run right through the Rebel squadron without much time to realize it.
A handful of A-wings and X-wings turned around to pursue the Interceptors. "We can't let them reach the Alderaan!" the commander yelled into his comlink. Laser bolts struck his fighter, and turned his voice to static.
Terr switched his comlink to a direct channel with Sorcha's craft. "Sorcha! Sorcha, can you hear me?"
"Terr? Yes! I'm right behind you."
Terr glanced at his targeting radar to note that Sorcha's A-wing was trailing half a kilometer behind. "Good," he said. "Listen- we're going to stop that frigate, you and me."
"No, we're not. Are you crazy, Terr? What has gotten into you today? There's no way just the two of us could-"
Suddenly, both pilots were reeling from laser strikes. A squadron of TIE Fighters had penetrated the masking clouds near the edge, and had both Rebel craft targeted well beforehand. Terr and Sorcha struggled desperately to maneuver their craft out of the line of fire, but neither of them could maintain a solid idea of what direction they were moving in. Terr's B-wing sped around to its original direction, unable to hold off the barrage of enemy fire. "Gah!"
Terr watched as his shield energy gauge plunged rapidly. "Sorcha!" he screamed. "I need hel-"
His request was responded to with a piercing scream.
"Sorcha!"
As Sorcha speedily approached the sloping ridge that led to Baaka and Terr's home, she noticed a figure, shadowed with the seemingly infested sun behind it, racing with incredible stamina towards the nadir on which the hangars were located. She stopped as she saw the figure approaching, and began to run alongside her comrade in the direction she came from.
"How did they find us?" Sorcha yelled to Terr, racing alongside.
Terr, intent on reaching his A-Wing fighter, hesitated before realizing that Sorcha was referring to the massive Imperial force that trailed them in the stratosphere above. "I don't know," was all he could manage, sparing his breath for the run to the center of the vast plateau.
Soon, a squad of TIE Interceptors had reached their target area. The amazingly maneuverable craft plunged towards the earth, firing streams of laser energy that scorched large patches of the tall grass. What followed was a truly horrible smell, as if you'd incinerated a wamprat with a single shot of the carbine, Terr thought. The young pilots continued their way across the plain, dodging through the firestorm that rained down upon them.
Reaching an incredibly low altitude, the Imperial fighters banked upwards in a movement that seemed to shift an entire air mass, producing a shockwave that sent Terr and Sorcha falling to the ground. Sorcha covered her ears as the demonic craft screamed, twirling back up into the sky. The stench of ion exhaust mingled with flaming grass particles made her stomach turn. Terr raised his head to survey the environment, picked himself up out of the tall blades, and grabbed Sorcha's hand, forcing her into a mad dash.
By this time, several Rebel pilots already in the hangar had taken flight. Two X-Wings were now engaged against two TIE Fighter patrol squadrons in the sky above the mesa, struggling to outmaneuver the swarm of hostile craft. The Rebel fighters took on fire from all angles, blasting their way through in search of a convenient offensive position. The more experienced of the two fighter pilots fired a barrage at the leading TIE, causing its metallic structure to sizzle and crack open, creating a tremendous burst of light before it descended to the ground in a shower of fiery debris.
"Shields at full power!" the pilot commanded to his wingman.
Both X-Wings thrust full-speed through the new clearing in the surrounding ring of TIEs, a skillful move that forced two inept Imperial pilots to crash into each other. The three remaining Fighters pulled away from the explosion that ensued, giving the Rebels just enough time to turn around and engage in attack position. They fired incessantly in the direction of the oncoming enemy craft. The commanding pilot was able to dispatch one of the TIEs before a barrage of green lasers penetrated the hull of his wingman. He rolled his X-Wing just in time to avoid the effects of a massive collision that consumed all three pilots.
The Rebel commander's heart sank at the loss of his loyal comrade.
Sorcha glanced up at the battle raging overhead, breathing heavily as she continued her run with Terr. Soon, the two pilots came to a stop, completely exhausted. Terr kneeled in the sun-dried grass, seemingly oblivious to the sounds of war that pierced the air around him. He tried to control his breathing and regain his strength.
"Terr! We can't just stay here!" Sorcha pleaded, between breaths.
"No," replied Terr, equally exhausted. "There's not enough time to get to our ships." He was clearly eager to join the dogfight already occurring. "I...we..."
He took notice of a B-Wing fighter that had landed following a training exercise shortly before the attack began. Its pilot lay in a charred stretch of earth that had been struck by a searing stream of green laser. The pilot-less craft was a mere twenty yards away. Sorcha looked towards the hangar entrance a hundred yards in the distance, then down to Terr, and over to the fighter he was eyeing.
"Oh no..." she started. "You've never flown one before! There's no way, Terr..."
Terr's gaze was fixed on the B-Wing craft. It was unlike him to abandon logic in favor of following his impulses. But something had changed in him – something, after finding out the truth about his parents, after the swordfight with Baaka, after the sirens – he felt free, as if nothing was holding him back from reaching his dreams.
He got up, seized Sorcha, kissed her, and raced towards the B-Wing.
"You're not always right!" he yelled back. He was smiling, although Sorcha didn't notice. She simply stood in shock of the courage and sudden foolishness that had overcome her best friend. Shaking her head, she muttered something, and continued running towards her A-Wing in the hangar.
Terr climbed the fuselage of the grounded B-Wing, and entered its cylindrical cockpit. He had always admired the power and grace of the Alliance's newest fighter, personally designed by the legendary Admiral Ackbar, but was still unfamiliar with its complex design. He tried to relate the mass of flashing buttons and power levers before him to the control panel in his own A-Wing. He saw something that looked like it could be the ignition activator and, with a deep breath, pushed it anxiously.
"Ah," he said, as the glass shield above him lowered, sealing the cone-like cockpit. With a bit more confidence, he flipped a metallic switch that instantly ignited the craft's repuslor-lifts. The B-Wing hovered steadily, gradually ascending to the same plane upon which the battle for Bothawui was raging. Terr reached into the pocket of his flight suit, took out two gloves ordinarily used for controlling the throttle of an A-Wing, strapped them onto his hands and grasped the flight controls of the new craft.
The cockpit of the B-Wing was attached to a T-shaped hull, the rear engines supporting two wings that folded perpendicular to the straight, metallic structure leading down to a front-facing laser cannon. Two additional cannons were located on the wings of the craft. Activating the B-Wing's attack mode, Terr braced himself as the S-foils opened and the weapon control interface appeared on the internal monitor.
The hull of the B-Wing rotated around the stabilized cockpit as Terr targeted the nearest squad of TIEs. The leader of the three Imperial Fighters caught glimpse of the approaching enemy craft and commanded his wingmen into attack formation. Terr looked down at the hangar on the surface below, and the squad of A-Wings taking flight. Then, arming the laser trigger, unleashed a barrage at the oncoming TIEs.
Hhwat wat wat! The three cannons fired in rapid succession, propelling bursts of glowing red energy that seemed to scorch the cool Bothawui air. The flaming streams plummeted into the leading Fighter. Its metallic hull glowed red before bursting outward; shooting debris that acted as dangerous projectiles to Terr's craft. He rotated the hull, allowing the flaming scraps to pass by and rest on the earth below.
The two remaining TIE Fighters maintained their lock on the Rebel craft, unleashing an assault of laserfire as Terr twirled the mass of the B-Wing in an attempt to outmaneuver the onslaught. Streams of green energy blazed across the ship's wings, wearing down the integrity of its shields.
"Gah..." Terr struggled to stabilize the fighter's energy systems. He was now in a dogfight with two enemy craft, utilizing the B-Wing's unique design to dodge attacks, while firing incessantly at the TIEs in short intervals to throw off their persistent assault. Soon, the silver paint on the B-Wing's S-foils was charring from laser strikes. "Set shield recharge to maximum rate!" he commanded to the craft's astromech droid. The onboard monitor displayed the redirection of laser energy to the ship's defensive systems. Terr let out a sigh, and was jolted by another direct hit from the pursuing TIEs.
Just then, the Imperial fighters exploded in a dazzling combination of fiery force and thunderous sound. Terr's B-Wing reeled slightly from the blast before the smoke cleared, revealing a single A-Wing speeding to its side. Terr sighed in relief, and grinned as the two fighters matched pace and direction. He switched on his comlink, just in time to hear the familiar, warm voice.
"Yes I am!" Sorcha replied to her friend's earlier comment.
Terr looked to the right out of his cockpit shield, into that of his loyal companion, and smirked. She returned a warm smile, before pointing in the direction that their ships were moving as a friendly reminder to Terr of the ruthless Imperial onslaught they were entering.
"Oh, right," he said with a grin, returning his focus to his forward view.
The A- and B-wing fighters were now leading the better part of the small Rebel fleet towards an Imperial battle frigate and its multi-squadron fighter defense. The large craft was painted a dull, dark silver and amidst the swarm of similarly-colored fighters, it appeared to the small group of Rebels that their advancing target was a puppet-master, the TIEs screaming forward in an attempt to break free of their strings. Nevertheless, Terr kept his gaze fixed on the menacing frigate.
Terr's concentration was broken by commands from higher-ups over the comlink. The X-Wing pilot who had led the very first counterattack now ordered the band of fighters to split up into pairs. "A single mass is an easy target," he continued. "Try to take down as many fighters as possible, and cover your wingman! The important thing is to keep enough of us alive long enough to prevent that frigate from coming in range of the Alderaan."
In all his haste, Terr had completely forgotten about the Rebels' command ship, the Alderaan, and the officers that were planning to evacuate the planet. "Baaka..." he remembered; he had left the weak old Bothan all alone on the veranda. Terr hoped with all his might that Baaka had made it safely to the hangar, and would be aboard the Alderaan when the Rebels regrouped. After this suicide mission is over, he reminded himself.
"Three kilometers..." one of the B-wing pilots broke in, reminding all of the great danger approaching. Sorcha's heart raced. She and Terr had only minutes ago never been in real combat before; now they were going head-on against some of the most well-trained foes in the galaxy. "Wind increasing steadily from the north...all pilots adjust craft to maintain target lock..." Sorcha complied, shifting the throttle of her A-Wing slightly to the right. In doing so, she caught glimpse of a cluster of thick cumulus clouds flowing steadily into the path between the warring squadrons.
"Uh, I think we may have a problem..." she cut in over the comlink.
"What is it?" asked the X-Wing commander, focusing on combating the wind with his throttle.
It was too late to take any action, however, as the wind increased dramatically and the clouds accelerated. Soon, a dense white haze enveloped Rebel and Imperial craft alike. Some of the Rebel pilots, used to relying on their own eyesight in battle, began to look around nervously.
"I can't see anything!"
"Where are they?"
"Cut the chatter and watch your targeting computers," the commander ordered.
"May the Force be with us..." Sorcha added.
Immediately thereafter, a swarm of TIE Interceptors began to break through the edge of visibility, mere meters in front of the Rebel fighters. "Ah!" Terr exclaimed to himself, shifting his throttle so that the B-wing banked to the left, just in time to avoid a head-on collision with an Interceptor. Sorcha's A-wing jerked to the right, and soon the Rebels' plan to pair up crafts had proved a drastic failure. X-wings shifted upwards and spiraled down; apparently the TIE pilots had not anticipated the possibilities of the Bothawui atmosphere either, and had run right through the Rebel squadron without much time to realize it.
A handful of A-wings and X-wings turned around to pursue the Interceptors. "We can't let them reach the Alderaan!" the commander yelled into his comlink. Laser bolts struck his fighter, and turned his voice to static.
Terr switched his comlink to a direct channel with Sorcha's craft. "Sorcha! Sorcha, can you hear me?"
"Terr? Yes! I'm right behind you."
Terr glanced at his targeting radar to note that Sorcha's A-wing was trailing half a kilometer behind. "Good," he said. "Listen- we're going to stop that frigate, you and me."
"No, we're not. Are you crazy, Terr? What has gotten into you today? There's no way just the two of us could-"
Suddenly, both pilots were reeling from laser strikes. A squadron of TIE Fighters had penetrated the masking clouds near the edge, and had both Rebel craft targeted well beforehand. Terr and Sorcha struggled desperately to maneuver their craft out of the line of fire, but neither of them could maintain a solid idea of what direction they were moving in. Terr's B-wing sped around to its original direction, unable to hold off the barrage of enemy fire. "Gah!"
Terr watched as his shield energy gauge plunged rapidly. "Sorcha!" he screamed. "I need hel-"
His request was responded to with a piercing scream.
"Sorcha!"